Loading The Moon & the Tides…
Tonight's moon and whether the tide is running big (spring) or small (neap), with the day's sunrise and sunset — the water's rhythm under the Nut. Not a tide table; the Bureau's free one is linked.
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The moon sets the rhythm of the water under the Nut. This page shows tonight's moon, whether the tides are running big (spring tides) or small (neap tides), and the day's light — the sunrise and sunset — so you can plan your fishing, a walk on the beaches, or an evening out. It is not a tide table: for the exact times of high and low water, use the Bureau of Meteorology's tide predictions and the fishermen and boat crews who read this coast every day. For the swell and wind outside the harbour, see the Sea & Harbour Conditions page.
Tonight’s moon
Tides are building toward springs — the range grows day by day.
A bright, moonlit night.
When the big water and the small water fall around Stanley, so you can plan. Spring tides come around the new and full moon; neaps around the quarters.
Twice a month, at the new moon and the full moon, the sun and the moon pull in line. That makes the biggest tides — the “spring” tides: the high water comes up further, the low water goes out further, and the currents run hardest. These are the days the water moves most.
In between, at the half-moons (the quarters), the sun and the moon pull at angles to each other. The tides are at their smallest — the “neap” tides: less range, gentler currents.
The biggest tides actually run a day or two after the new or full moon, not on the exact day — so treat these as the strong stretch, not a single date.
Stanley works the Southern Rock Lobster grounds off the north-west coast. A spring tide moves more water and runs stronger currents around the Nut and through the harbour mouth; a neap tide is gentler. The moon tells you the strength of the water, not the exact minute it turns — watch the water and ask at the wharf.
The biggest spring low tides open the most sand at Godfreys Beach, Tatlows Beach and along the sandy neck that ties the Nut to the mainland. A neap low uncovers less. Either way, watch a rising tide so you aren't cut off, and remember the moon gives the pattern, not the precise time.
The little penguins come ashore after dark from about September to April. A bright full-moon night lights the beach; a dark new-moon night is harder to see them by (the birds don't mind either way — a red-filtered torch and quiet are what matter). See the Penguins Tonight page for tonight's arrival timing.
A westerly can build the sea outside the sheltered harbour fast, and that matters more than the tide for getting out safely. The moon gives the tide's strength, not the wind and swell — check the Sea & Harbour Conditions page before you head out, and the marine forecast in a blow.
Stanley is a Bureau of Meteorology standard tide port, so the actual times and heights of high and low water are published free each year. Print the Stanley page and keep it by the door — it is the real tide table this page can't replace.
Source: Bureau of Meteorology — Tasmania tide predictions (Stanley), checked 5 July 2026 (last month).
This page is built only from the moon and the sun, which can be calculated anywhere and never go stale. It tells you how strong the tide is running — spring (big water) or neap (small water) — and when the light comes and goes, so you know the rhythm at a glance. For the exact minute the water turns, use the Bureau's table above or ask the fishermen and boat crews at the wharf who read this water every day.
This is the moon, not a tide table
This page shows the moon’s rhythm and the day’s light. It does not give the height or the time of high and low water — there is no published tide table for this coast, and we will not guess at one.
For the real state of the water on any day — when it turns, how far it comes in, whether the boat can leave — the fishermen and boat crews at the wharf read this water every day. They are the ones to ask.
Moon and sun times are calculated for Stanley and can be a few minutes out. Times are shown in the local clock.
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Waxing gibbous · 84% lit